Cape City Council considers allowing out-of-state police applicants

In a meeting held remotely via Zoom because of COVID-19 concerns, the Cape Girardeau City Council gave first reading approval Monday to a new ordinance allowing out-of-state applications for the city’s police department.

The way the city’s employment policy is currently written, only people who live in Missouri may be hired as officers in Cape Girardeau.

“We used to have an abundance of applicants (but) we’re having less and less apply,” city manager Scott Meyer told Mayor Bob Fox and the six ward council members.

The ordinance, if given final approval at the council’s next meeting Dec. 21, would permit applications from “adjoining states,” Meyer said.

“From time to time, we’ve had interest in our department from across the river,” he said, but those out-of-state applicants currently must immediately be denied consideration.

Police chief Wes Blair said state statutes used to require Missouri residence for officers but no longer do.

“The ordinance allowing non-Missouri police applicants brings Cape more in line with the state,” said Blair, police chief since 2013.

Blair said approximately 95% of the city’s police hires come from the SEMO Law Enforcement Academy.

“The last couple of (academy) classes have been smaller by 8 to 10 people, and, overall, we’ve seen fewer people apply,” he added.

“Our standards will not change (but) we wanted to open up the recruiting pool a bit to allow applicants from the other side of the bridge, especially, to have an opportunity,” Blair said.

“The current climate for considering a law enforcement career is reducing our applicant pool,” he added.

“When you see police being vilified nightly on television, it has a chilling effect,” Blair continued.

Chamber report

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Mehner told the council unemployment levels have nearly returned to what they were pre-COVID: 3.3% in Cape Girardeau County and 3.6% in Scott County.

“Take those numbers with a grain of salt, though,” said Mehner, who added a sober note.

“Our labor force is substantially smaller than it was before COVID,” said Mehner, who has led the chamber since 1993.

“What’s happening here is mirroring what’s going on across the country,” he said, adding, “We’re not employing as many people as we did before.”

Mehner also told the council the chambers in Cape Girardeau and Jackson have distributed more than 25,000 face masks to businesses free of charge.

A total of 823 area business applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have been approved, Mehner said, for requests of $150,000 or more in PPP loans in the 8th Congressional District.

Miscellaneous

• Fifth Ward Councilwoman Shannon Truxel reported St. James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church at 516 North St. will again open a warming center in its historic structure starting in January during extreme cold.
• Mary Darby of the Fourth Ward was appointed by the council to the Show Me Center Board of Managers.
• Ryan Lane of the Fourth Ward was appointed by the council to the Historic Preservation Commission.
• A special council meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Dec. 15 at the request of Mayor Fox to consider two time-sensitive ordinances.